Are We A Nation of Food Addicts?
Our culture includes food at most events and uses it for every reason under the sun. We use it for entertainment, celebrations, holidays, funerals, when we are bored, depressed or stressed. Many of us use food to literally stuff our feelings down because we don’t want to feel.
Unfortunately, it’s not only an adult issue. It has also affected an increasing number of children who grow up eating addictively which, oftentimes, result in obesity. Many children follow the pattern set up within their household. If they see their parents eat unhealthily, they tend to repeat the same behavior.
According to the CDC, “The incidence of obesity was 39.8% in 2015-2016 and affected about 93.3 million U.S. adults. Among U.S. youth, the incidence of obesity was 18.5% in 2015-2016.”
Diet Industry
Even though a lot of people use the diet industry to lose weight, their excess weight usually returns. The commercial diet programs are usually not sustainable for many people. When we think of diets, we think of it as having a beginning and an end. When the weight goal is reached, people usually go back to the way they ate prior to starting the diet. Eventually, their weight will start increasing and then they’re back to where they started before dieting.
Clothing Industry
The clothing industry has expanded its market to accommodate the millions of people who cannot fit into regular size clothing. In the past, there were only a limited amount of clothing stores that carried plus sizes. Now, along with plus-size models, many stores carry “trendy” plus size clothing. There are also store chains that strictly cater to a larger clientele.
Family & Friends
So many of us have family members or friends who are overweight and suffer from one or more of the following diseases or conditions: Diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, and heart disease. Most of these are a result of what they eat and how much. When we try to encourage our family and friends to eat healthier, many of them refuse. Even when their physicians tell them to limit or eliminate certain foods from their diet, they can’t do it because they are addicted to those foods.
Who is to Blame?
People like to blame the fast food industry for the excess weight they’re carrying around. They say that fast food restaurants add fat, sugar, and additives to their food to make it more palatable and addictive. That may be true, but when are we, as a culture, going to take responsibility for our own actions? Is it the industries fault that we continue to consume the foods they’re selling? Can we choose to buy healthier food?
Are We a Nation of Food Addicts?
In a word, yes! Think about how our society uses food.
Write back and give me your thoughts about our culture and how we are using food.
Cynthia
